As you know, I will be leaving the university at the end of this academic year to take up the presidency of San Jose State University in my home state of California. I arrived at this decision only after great soul-searching and deep reflection, because I have developed very strong ties with our students, our campus, and our incredibly dedicated faculty and staff. Contributing to Southern’s development, after a period of institutional uncertainty, has given me a great sense of satisfaction and fulfillment.
I believe that, drawing on the strengths of its talented community, our university will continue on an upward trajectory, with fresh leadership in all vital positions and a greater exposure to our region, and indeed the whole state. Furthermore, the governance in Hartford has stabilized and new President Mark Ojakian is a man of excellent judgment, with a commitment to innovation and a sensitivity to our needs.
Last week, President Ojakian announced the launch of presidential searches for both Southern and Central Connecticut State Universities. The selection process includes the establishment of a Board of Regents search committee by BOR Chair Nicholas Donofrio, and a University Advisory Committee with members representing various constituency groups.
Both committees will work with an executive placement firm currently on contract, AGB Search, to conduct a national search. The Board of Regents will select the candidate based on recommendations from each committee and President Ojakian.
The search for Southern is expected to begin in early March and that for Central in mid-May.
I plan to spend the coming months continuing to guide our upward trajectory so that I can leave the campus knowing I have done my best for an institution I have grown to love. I hope you will take an opportunity over the next months to say goodbye and, hopefully, to wish me well.
THE IMPACT OF A SOUTHERN EDUCATION
February is typically a difficult month, when winter is at its harshest, the glow of the holiday season seems in the distant past, and spring has yet to bring the full glow of its warmth and renewal. At Southern, February also offered us the gloomy prospect of a continuing series of projected state budget deficits, the full impact of which on our operating budget has yet to be determined.
Needless to say, without hard numbers, we are planning the best we can for a variety of contingencies, and I will update you when the situation becomes clearer. I cannot overemphasize the importance of good budgetary planning, and I am confident that we will develop strategies similar to those that served us well during previous periods of fiscal challenge.
As you know, this institution has progressed through choppy seas before, and our mission, and our dedication to student success, has always remained in focus. With this in mind, I thought I would share with you some interesting research from Michael Ben-Avie, Director of Assessment and Planning, which highlights some key characteristics of our student body and shows the results of our efforts to provide our students with the best educational experience possible:
- Southern seniors exceed expectations. A capstone assessment at Southern is the Collegiate Learning Assessment (CLA), a performance-based assessment used to test students’ development of the competencies considered by employers as important in new hires. The advantage of CLA is that it projects how well the seniors should score based on freshmen CLA scores and entering academic ability. Southern seniors exceed expectations, and this is the “value-added” from a Southern education.
- Our students thrive at the university despite having complicated lives. Southern students work off-campus for pay more than their peers at the other Connecticut state universities, and they are often pulled in many different directions (for example, taking care of elderly or younger relatives). According to the 2015 Southern Experience Survey, about a quarter of the sophomores and juniors agreed that financial difficulties may compel them to leave the university.
- The strongest direct predictors of enrollment retention are GPA and sense of belonging. They are the main predictors of persistence, regardless of ethnic background or gender. Students’ self-regulation is enhanced when they have a sense of connectedness, providing them with the commitment that they need to override self-absorbed and self-indulgent behaviors. A sense of belonging and future orientation are closely linked. Supportive relationships also enhance students’ engagement and motivate them to continue to study and learn.
- Many Southern students continue to be first-generation college students. This year, 44% of the incoming students indicated that the highest level of education completed by either of their parents was a high school diploma or G.E.D. 4% indicated that their parents did not finish high school. 10% said parents attended college but did not complete a degree.
- Our students are making gains as a result of the university’s liberal education program. For example, three faculty raters assessed students’ competency in analyzing an unfamiliar work of art using the “cultural expression” skills learned in class. Students scored in the very high range on such criteria as the description of structure and formal elements as well as interpretive and creative thought. In another example, faculty scored students’ competency in courses related to the American Experience. Students received scores “with distinction” in knowledge, insight, and analytic skills.
- Southern’s critical thinking courses contribute to student performance on the Collegiate Learning Assessment. Freshmen who strongly agreed to the following items on the First-Year Program Self-Assessment had the highest scores on the CLA: “As a result of my critical thinking course, I can identify and explain specific types of fallacies (common errors in reasoning),” wrote one respondent. And “as a result of my critical thinking course, I am able to distinguish between the premises and the conclusion of an argument in a complex piece of writing,” wrote another.
- Employers rate graduates of our professional programs highly. According to the 2015 Employer Survey, employers of graduates from certification programs commended the university on the well-preparedness of SCSU graduates. Employers deemed graduates of the following programs as well prepared: school psychologists; speech and language pathologists; guidance counselors; librarians; administrators; media specialists; physical education teachers; and school health teachers.
- Employers describe Southern graduates in positive terms. For example, an employer wrote, “I have had positive experiences when hiring professionals from SCSU and would hire again graduates from SCSU.” Another wrote, “SCSU has a much-respected program for producing strong teachers; I am always very satisfied with their skill level.” An employer noted that “In my experience, the SCSU graduates are well-prepared.” Other employer surveys elicited similar results. For example, employers rated graduates of the Clinical Mental Health Counseling program: 93% agreed that the graduates “demonstrate the competence to think through a problem and offer novel approaches to resolving it.”
- Certification students succeed in their clinical field experiences. Students are placed with cooperating professionals (employees of the school or agency) who rate the students based on the competencies that employers consider desirable in new hires. In 2014, for example, 78% of the student teachers received “exemplary” scores for their overall effect on K-12 student learning and 22% received “proficient” scores. Also in 2014, site supervisors provided an overall ranking of the performance of social work students: 97% of the students in the Social Work BA program “met standards”—the highest possible rank—as did 94% of the students in the MS program.
- Graduates of our certification programs tend to work in high needs schools and agencies. Of the alumni of the School of Education, for example, 91% work in a public school: 22% in an urban area (population > 100,000), 21% in an inner city, 16% in a town (population > 25,000), 7% in a small town/rural area, and 34% in a suburban area.
- Southern graduates find employment in their fields. According to the 2015 Employer Survey, for example, 79% of the graduates of the School of Education are currently employed in the field of education, 4% are in graduate school, 12% were employed outside of the field of education, and only 4% were still seeking a position. Less than 1% of the respondents were out of the workforce and not seeking a position.
- Graduates’ current employment tends to be related to their SCSU degrees. 72% of the respondents to the 2014 Alumni Survey indicated that their current employment is related to their degree from Southern.
As these findings detail, our commitment to access and affordability remains crucial for many of our students, and our commitment to excellence insures that the degrees earned are of the highest quality. And despite our fiscal challenges, we continue to do what we do best – provide a balanced education that gives our students the practical and intellectual toolkit they need for success in a knowledge-based economy.
ENROLLMENT UPDATE
As you know, tuition income is a critical part of our operating budget. For the spring, we saw slight increases in full-time headcount and FTE and undergraduate headcount and FTE. Terricita Sass, Associate Vice President for Enrollment Management, reports that these increases were carried by an upturn in undergraduate new student enrollment and improved retention.
Fall to spring first-time freshmen retention is also at a six year high of 93%. Many of the enhancements and investments in student success campus wide in recent years have provided a solid framework to build a sustainable retention structure.
Below are the fall to spring retention numbers for the last six years:
FTFT Cohort Students Registered Following Spring Percent
Fall 2010 1,248 1,136 91.0%
Fall 2011 1,319 1,206 91.4%
Fall 2012 1,360 1,252 92.1%
Fall 2013 1,361 1,256 92.3%
Fall 2014 1,275 1,156 90.7%
Fall 2015 1,394 1,296 93.0%
Now we are looking ahead to the fall, and with our acceptances currently trending more than 20 % ahead of last year, we are excited about the possibilities for our Fall 2016 class.
A key date on the calendar will be Accepted Students Day on April 2, which will include some expanded components, including offering abbreviated mock classroom experiences. This is a wonderful opportunity for us to showcase our modern campus and our outstanding range of academic offerings and student support services.
PROMOTING A DISTINCTIVE IDENTITY
The university has contracted with SimpsonScarborough, a leading higher education marketing research, branding and creative strategies firm, to conduct a comprehensive marketing and brand identity research project for the University.
The purpose of this project is create a brand strategy for Southern that will help us promote a distinctive identity for the University and set us apart from our peers in an increasingly competitive higher education marketplace. The development of this strategy will be crucial as we seek to enhance both our student recruitment efforts and our fundraising from private sources.
SimpsonScarborough will draw on key research findings and input from surveys and collaborative branding workshops with prospective undergraduates and their parents, adult and transfer students, admitted non-enrolling students, community and business leaders, guidance counselors, current students, faculty, staff and alumni.
Company representatives were on campus last week to interview representative groups of students, faculty and staff, drawing on some of the following key questions:
- What are Southern’s areas of strength?
- What are Southern’s areas of weakness?
- What is Southern best known for?
- What should Southern be known for?
- What misperceptions, if any, exist about Southern?
- What are the attributes, adjectives and emotional elements of the Southern experience that convey a unique brand that matters?
The overall project will take several months and the findings not only will help to inform our marketing and recruitment strategies, but also identify areas for improvement in our community outreach and student services.
SPOTLIGHT ON THEATER
These are high times for our Theatre Department. As I mentioned last month, the university has entered into an exciting partnership with Elm Shakespeare Company (ESC) that promises to bring new energy to our theater activities and the entire university community. Members of the campus community are invited to a special event celebrating the signing of the MOU and the announcement of the new ESC season this Wednesday (March 3) at 4:30 p.m. in the Lyman Center lobby.
Meanwhile, at the recent John F. Kennedy Center American College Theater (KCACTF) Festival, Region I, the Theatre Department continued its long track record of producing award-winning students and productions.
Department Chair Kaia Monroe reports that student Kiernan Norman competed in Dramaturgy and Criticism and ended up winning both the Best Program Notes in Dramaturgy and the National Institute for Journalism and Advocacy award for the region. Kiernan will be going on to Washington D.C. in April to compete nationally.
Christine Parella competed in Lighting Design where she received 1st Runner-Up in the National Award for Excellence in Lighting Design and won the Stagecraft Institute of Las Vegas Award. She will be traveling to Las Vegas this summer to attend the Stagecraft Institute.
Southern student thespians also received three merit awards: for Outstanding Multiple Accents for the ensemble cast of “Our Country’s Good,” for Outstanding Student Sound Mixing (JT McLoughlin) on “Rent” and Outstanding Ensemble Acting for “Almost Maine.” Marcelle Morrissey was a semi-finalist in the Irene Irene Ryan Acting Scholarship Auditions.
Directed by Professor Sheila Garvey, “Almost, Maine” was one of just six productions selected for presentation from almost 150 submissions entered by colleges across New England and New York. Sheila describes the play as “a delightful comedy/romance with cosmic overtones” and says the invitation to perform at the festival was “a great honor.” Written by playwright and actor John Cariani, the play has a small cast of eight and a minimal set, designed for the SCSU production by Theatre Professor John Carver Sullivan, who also designed the costumes.
It is a wonderful achievement to have two regional winners competing at the national level. Congratulations to everyone involved in representing Southern so well at this showcase event.
MORE HONORS FOR EDUCATION
One of our ongoing points of pride is that Southern historically has produced more teachers, principals, superintendents and school administrators than any other university in the state, meaning that our impact on education in Connecticut is both wide and deep.
As I noted in a recent blog, the ongoing excellence of our teacher preparation programs was again borne out by the announcement of Jahana Hayes, ’05, a social studies teacher at Waterbury’s John F. Kennedy High School, who was recently named Connecticut’s 2016 Teacher of the Year and Colleen Palmer, the Superintendent of the Weston Public Schools, has been named Superintendent of the Year for 2016 by the Connecticut Association of Public School Superintendents (CAPSS). Colleen earned a M.S. in counseling from Southern in 1990 and a sixth-year diploma in administration supervision in 1993.
Subsequently, Megan Johnson, M.S. ’98, 6th Yr. ’99, was honored as the 2016 School Counselor of the Year Connecticut state representative. Megan was among a select group of school counselors honored by First Lady Michelle Obama at the White House in January.
A counselor at King Philip Middle School in West Hartford, Megan was raised in a family of educators. Her father, David Fox, is a retired history teacher and her mother, alumna Rosemary Fox, ’69, M.S. ’72, also taught before becoming a school counselor.
At Southern, Megan worked as a graduate assistant while pursuing her studies. She credits Professor Emeritus of Counseling and School Psychology Michael Martin, for his mentorship: “His belief in me as a professional helped me gain the confidence I needed to pursue my career and is something I will never forget.” Megan earned her most recent honor after being named the 2015 School Counselor of the Year by the Connecticut School Counseling Association
Alumni librarians are also feeling the love. Congratulations to Diane Brown, ’95, M.L.S. ’04, and Elizabeth G. Rumery, M.L.S. ’05, two of only 10 librarians from throughout the nation to receive the “I Love My Librarian Award.” The competition, which is overseen by the American Library Association, recognizes librarians who have transformed lives through education.
EMERITI KUDOS
Continuing the education theme, I note that Beverly Levett Gerber, Professor Emeritus of Special Education has played a leading role in the establishment of a new special interest division of the national Council for Exceptional Children (CEC), focusing on the arts.
Thanks to Beverly’s efforts, art educators now have a home at CEC in the Division of Visual and Performing Arts Education (DARTS). DARTS is the first CEC division to focus on arts education for students with disabilities, and on collaboration between art, music, drama, and dance/movement educators and special educators. It offers art educators who work with special needs children the opportunity to share stories and teaching approaches: http://community.cec.sped.org/darts/home
Beverly, who currently is the president of DARTS, has been an advocate of the arts for students with disabilities for almost 50 years. She initiated CEC’s Special Interest Group for Teachers of the Arts and was a founding member and Past-President of the National Art Education Association (NAEA) Special Needs Issues Group.
Beverly and her husband Stuart Gerber both taught special education for more than 30 years before retiring in 2003.
CAPITOL PRESENTATION FOR STUDENT ANTIBIOTIC RESEARCH
Two of our biology students have been selected to present on Washington’s Capitol Hill their discovery of a type of bacteria that may have valuable antibiotic properties.
The duo will participate in the Posters on the Hill program, sponsored by the national Council of Undergraduate Research and featuring 60 student research projects from more than 300 applicants across the nation. The program will be held April 19 and 20, when students will offer poster presentations of their work to members of Congress, Congressional aides and representatives of federal agencies.
Elizabeth Lewis Roberts, assistant professor of biology, reports that Jaqueline Mary Desrosier, a Guilford resident who recently graduated from Southern, found the bacteria during an advanced microbiology course last spring. The course, part of a nationwide program called the Small World Initiative, enabled students to isolate soil bacteria in the hopes of finding new antibiotics.
During the summer and fall, Jacqueline and and Laeticia Iboki, from Stratford, performed experiments with this “good bacteria,” and showed that it not only killed harmful bacteria, but also helped tomato plants grow larger and withstand heat stress.
Patricia Zibluk, director of the SCSU Sponsored Programs and Research (SPAR) program, notes that the fact that our students’ application was accepted in a very competitive environment “is a testament to Southern’s growing emphasis on giving our students genuine research experiences that foster their intellectual growth and creativity.”
Please take the opportunity to talk with our innovative students and view projects from across the disciplinary spectrum at our Second Annual Undergraduate Research and Creativity Conference April 23 in the Adanti Student Center.
RECYCLING INITIATIVES
Our grassroots recycling efforts are continuing to gather pace in partnership with Chartwells, Southern’s contracted food service provider. Heather Stearns, Southern’s Recycling Coordinator, reports the launch of a new reusable mug option in which students, faculty and staff may refill their personal bottle/mug at any of the retail locations on campus including Dunkin Donuts and Starbucks for the price of a small drink.
This represents savings for both our community members and Chartwells (through not having to purchase cups and lids. Currently, Chartwells serves more than 65,000 cups of hot and cold beverages each month.
Another project that kicked off last week is the daily donation of food from Connecticut Hall to St. Ann’s Soup Kitchen on Arch Street. This builds on a pilot program that began last summer, in which more than 600 pounds of prepackaged food from campus retail locations have been donated to the Connecticut Food Bank.
The Department of Residence Life has also begun a compost program at Hickerson Hall, the home of our Sustainability Living Learning Community. Hall Director Caitlyn Cody, says that in just three weeks, the compost bin has already been filled and plans are to use the resulting compost to sustain the potted flowers that are placed at all of the residence halls during the spring and summer.
PROMOTING TOLERANCE
Earlier this month, our Faculty Senate, in association with the SCSU Muslim Students’ Association, presented a timely and important forum intended both to raise awareness about Islam and show solidarity with those who have been targeted by hateful speech.
As we witness through the media all too frequently, there is an ongoing need to promote the values of peace, tolerance and understanding, both within our community and beyond.
In this spirit, I am pleased to note that there are a number of events and activities planned that will continue to advance these values, including an Interfaith Dialogue on Tuesday hosted by the Office of Multicultural Affairs and the Women’s Studies Program in Engleman A120 at 1 p.m.; the ongoing 64 Days of Non-Violence programming coordinated by Women’s Studies: https://southernct.edu/academics/schools/arts/departments/womensstudies/64daysofnonviolence/index.html and a forthcoming Faculty Senate forum on Judaism.
In addition, the Office of Faculty Development’s focus for the Spring 2016 edition of “Southern Dialogue” is ‘Creating a More Compassionate Campus.’
This continued dialogue is essential for us to maintain an open and welcoming campus community.
SEXUAL MISCONDUCT POLICY
As you know, the CSCU Board of Regents established in 2014 a policy concerning sexual misconduct and intimate partner violence: www.ct.edu/files/pdfs/hr-policy-sexual-misconduct.pdf. This policy requires the reporting of these incidents in an effort to ensure that every member of our community can fully engage in the life of our campus
As a Southern employee, you may find yourself responding to a student or other employee’s report or disclosure of sexual misconduct or intimate partner violence. We have developed a protocol for employees to follow in such a situation: https://www.southernct.edu/sexual-misconduct/reporting-staff.html. Remember that all university employees except those whose official responsibilities require confidentiality are mandated reporters under the BOR policy.
Additional training for all Southern employees on sexual misconduct and the impact of such actions soon will be provided by the Office of Diversity and Equity. This will include mandatory online training and two on-campus workshops.
I thank you in advance for your cooperation in helping to enhance a key element of campus health and safety.
NOTABLE EVENTS
As spring approaches and we move into the heart of the semester, the campus always becomes alive with an eclectic range of events, from arts performances to public lectures and scholarly presentations. I will share a selection with you, but please check the University online calendar: http://calendar.southernct.edu/ for more highlights.
An interdisciplinary forum – on the first Thursday of each month during the semester – will feature Southern faculty in the arts, humanities, and social sciences presenting new scholarship, with special emphasis on emerging topics, methodologies, and areas of research in the 21st century.
The Biology and Psychology Joint Department Seminar Series on Behavioral Neuroscience runs through April, with the next offering – with the intriguing title of “Filial cannibalism: Why did daddy do that?” on March 7 at 1 p.m. in the Academic Science and Laboratory Building.
Black History Month events will include national recording artist and music industry executive June Archer speaking on: “Keys to Success” this evening (Feb. 29) at 7:30 p.m. in the Adanti Student Center Theater; a showcase of the rich culture of Africa through fashion, dance and music on March 4 at 7 p.m. in the Student Center Ballroom and a Heritage Ball: The Rolling Twenties: Celebrating the Harlem Renaissance Era on April 14 at 7 p.m. in the same location.
On April 3, at 4 p.m., Tina Packer’s ‘Women of Will,’ will play at the Lyman Center. Packer, a master Shakespearean actor/dramaturg, will deconstruct and conjure William Shakespeare’s most famous female characters during this benefit for Elm Shakespeare Company’s programs.
And finally, John Heilemann, one of the nation’s most respected political reporters and commentators, will offer an insider’s take on the 2016 presidential election, the Washington scene, and the major national political and policy issues of the day on April 11 at 7:30 p.m. in the Lyman Center.